J.J. Watt is expected to be back to his brutal and bloodied self this season.

After missing 13 games with a back injury last year, Texans coach Bill O’Brien is confident the defensive end will come back even stronger this season.

“I can tell you right now the guy’s going to be at the top of his game,” O’Brien told TheMMQB.com. “He’s had a great training camp. I think he’ll be better than he was.”

Watt was humbled by his coach's comments, saying O’Brien knows better than anyone what he's experienced while rehabbing during the offseason after spending the majority of last season on injured reserve.

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“I appreciate that, I appreciate it very much,” Watt said. “Obviously coming from him, it means a ton because he has seen every practice. He’s been out here, he’s been watching the film, he’s seen the practices, he knows what’s been going on. I haven’t talked too much about it. Everybody always asks, ‘Hey, how are you going to be? What is this season going to be like for you?’ And I don’t talk too much about it because the thing I have been focused most on this year is letting my play do the talking in practice. It’s been fun, I’ll say that. I feel very good.”

The Texans have been cautious with Watt and limited him to just a few snaps in each of the team's first two preseason games with the hope that he'll be fully healthy when Houston opens the regular season Sept. 10 against the Jaguars.

While Watt can't guarantee he'll be better this season, the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year promises to give everything he's got.

“I don’t know the answer to that,” Watt said. “I’m sure the doctors don’t know the answer. That’s the goal. But all I know is I can be as smart as I can possibly be, and that’s with practice reps, that’s with workouts, that’s with doing everything I can to make sure that for those 16 games-plus a year, I am ready to roll. I feel great, and as long as we stick to the plan that we’ve got — a day off here and there, some practice reps off here and there — I think we are going to be in good shape.”

During his last full season in 2015, Watt started all 16 games for Houston and recorded 76 tackles, an NFL-leading 17.5 sacks, eight passes defended, three forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery.